Something that people may not know about me is that I am not actually a great communicator in most cases.  I sometimes struggle to manage the difference between both professional working relationships and personal ones.

Here are 3 important things that I have learned about recognizing the best ways to communicate with other people who are trying to give you an important message.

Listening is More Important than Explaining (Managing Work & Personal Relationships)

If you actually just listen to the advice of all of your friends and family, you will realize that everyone really does have your best interest in their hearts.  Seriously, just shut up (as much as you as it pains you) and LISTEN to what your friends are trying to tell you.  You have to listen to the needs of your clients and business partners in order to effectively communicate your words, thoughts, and ideas into executable and actionable items or tasks.

Once you have listened to the person fully, it is time to ask more engaging questions to your audience, and then you get to listen and learn more about the person’s business ideas or business plan.

YOU Don’t Have All the Answers (Even If It Sometimes Seems That You Do)

Once you’re done listening (which doesn’t actually happen until Scene 16.8) you have to then, listen some more.  But make sure the per

son that you’re listening to is more knowledgeable on the subject matter.  It’s obvious that your client or business owner knows more about their business operations than you do. So, just keep listening and learning from everyone around you.  You never want to be the smartest person in the room.

So, to be super clear, you can’t give away all the answers up front, otherwise your audience will not perceive your value.  You have to leave some of what you do behind the scenes up to mystery.  I’m not saying that you shouldn’t help show other people what you feel is right, I am saying that if you feel it’s right… you should share that with your client and then let them make up their own mind on how they should proceed with your business.

I, myself am historically guilty of thinking that I have all the answers and that everyone should shut up and listen to me.  But the fact of the matter is that I do not have all of the answers.  So, when I chose what I share with friends, family, a potential client, future customers, or anyone else for that matter…

…You have to make sure that you are someone that people can always come back to for answers, be interviewed, and be shown that there is another side to this story.  So, keep your eye on the prize and make sure you are always doing the right thing.  If you are, then you literally cannot go wrong.  Also, get new friends if you can’t trust the old ones.

Offer Them Something and Explain the Purpose In Your Offer (Managing Work & Personal Relationships)

Ok.  This is the trickiest part of the sales process.  You definitely want to provide some value up front but when you make an offering you should offer your solution and then let your audience decide how they want to proceed.

One Sales Method that has always worked for me when presenting is the following:

Benefit – What is the value for the client or customer.
Application – How does this product/service HELP the end user or business owner.
Analogy – You have to draw a very easy comparison for the person you are presenting to.
Testimonial – Give them a testimonial or just show them your reviews, so they know that they are also working with a good person.

Have Faith that People Do Have YOUR Best Interest In Mind (Managing Work & Personal Relationships)

Finally, and lastly.  You have to continue to serve others in a positive, more meaningful way.  You have to make the determination of what is more important in your business.  Is it more important to show off all of your talents at once or is it more important to earn the trust of your business clients or potential customers.  This is probably one of the biggest challenges for most people but if you keep having faith in humanity, you know that you will do the right thing.

I wrote this with professional business people in mind.

If you have any questions or need any support, feel free to reach out for a FREE 15-minute interview about how I can help YOUR business today.